Mediaspace Channels
Channels are entities inside Mediaspace that can be used to store, manage and share videos similar to Galleries. Channels differ from Galleries in the following ways:
- Only BCIT staff, students or faculty can access channels
- Channels can belong to Mediaspace Galleries, but not the other way around
- Channels can be subscribed to
- Channels are created and managed Mediaspace Gallery managers
Accessing Channels
Channels in Mediaspace can be access in the following three ways:
All Channels
The first is to click on All Channels. Here you can view all Restricted channels and any Private channels that you have membership access into.
My Channels
The second is to click your name and select My Channels. Here you can view your created channels or channels that you have membership into.
Media Gallery Channel Tab
The third is to click into a Mediaspace Gallery that you have access to and then click on the Channel tab to see the channels published in that Gallery that you have access to.
Creating Channels
In order to create a channel you must be the owner of at least one Gallery in Mediaspace. The reasons for this are that
- Channels are entities that are ideally meant to be published inside Galleries
- It is the responsibility of Gallery owners to create, publish and administer channels to whomever wishes a channel be created for them
To create a channel head on over to either the All Channels tab or click on your name and select My Channels. On the top right you should see + Create Channel button.
Upon clicking the + Create Channel button give your channel a name and then fill in the optional description and tags fields.
Next to Privacy there are two options: Restricted and Private. Selecting Restricted will make a Channel and its videos accessible to all BCIT users in All Channels and through the search bar. Please note that this rule applies even if you publish the channel into a Private Gallery
Selecting Private will make a Channel and its videos accessible only to users that have been assigned a membership role inside the Channel.
Next to Options you can enable the following:
- Moderate content – This allows anyone with the moderator role inside the channel to approve or reject videos that are trying to be published by those with the contributor role
- Enable comments in the channel – This enables users to view and publish comments in the comment section that are visible when a user clicks on a video
- Enable Subscription to channel – This enables the button that allows users to subscribe to the channel
Next to Categories you will find a list all of the Open Galleries and Galleries that you have membership in. You can publish the Channel into a Gallery by ticking the checkbox next to the Gallery’s name.
Once you have configured all of your options. Click Save to create the channel
Managing Channels
At a glance you will notice the information area of Channel. Here is where you can view the current managers of the Channel, the Galleries the channel is currently published into, as well as a button to subscribe to the Channel (if enabled). Towards the lower half, you will see the Channel has two sections. Home and Media
Home
Under Home you will see all of the playlists created for the Channel by contributors. If the Channel currently does not have any saved playlists then this Home section will not be visible.
Media
Under Media you can view videos that have been published into the Channel by Channel contributors or search for them using either the search bar or Filters tab. You can also publish videos directly into the Channel from My Media by clicking on the + Add to Channel button
Channel Actions
Towards the very top right you will see a Channel Actions button. Giving this click will reveal several options: Edit, Upload Thumbnail, Reset Thumbnail, Analytics & Create a channel playlist
Click on Upload Thumbnail to change the image that will be displayed on the Channel. You can choose an image from your computer’s file system by clicking on Choose a file to upload
Click on Reset Thumbnail to remove the image that is currently displayed on the channel (inactive if there is no thumbnail image).
Click on Analytics to be taken to a page that will display statistical information about the channel.
Or click on Create Channel Playlist to create a playlist directly from here instead of from the playlist tab inside Edit
Clicking on Edit will take you to a screen with three tabs: Details, Playlists & Users
Details
Under Details you can edit the Channel’s settings. This includes the Channel’s name, description and search tags.
Underneath that are the Channel’s privacy settings. Choose ‘Restricted’ if you want everyone at BCIT to be able see this channel. Choose ‘Private’ if want the channel to be visible only to its members.
Under Options choose whether you want any new videos that are published by contributors in the channel to first be approved by channel moderators. You can also enable commenting for videos or enable channel the subscriptions button here.
Under Categories you can publish the channel into any Mediaspace Gallery that you have access to by ticking the checkbox next to it.
Clicking Save will allow you to save any of the changes you have made to the channel, clicking ‘back to channel’ will take you back to the channel without saving your edits and clicking delete will delete the channel completely.
Please note that as a manager you are responsible for coordinating any and all changes with your channel’s co-managers. If a channel is deleted under any circumstance then it cannot be restored.
Playlists
Clicking on the Playlists tab will allow you to see all of the currently created playlists in the channel. To edit or delete a playlist, click on either the pencil ✏️ or trash can 🗑️icons.
To create a playlist click on + Create a Channel Playlist
Give your playlist a name and some optional description or search tags. Then click create.
You will be taken to a page that is split between two sections: Add Items to Your list and Playlist
Under Add Items to Your Playlist you can choose to add videos to your playlist from either My Media or from videos that are currently published inside the channel. Click on the + button to add videos to your playlist.
Notice that adding videos will make them appear under the Playlist area. Click on the icon on the right to move a video to the top or bottom of the playlist or to remove it from the playlist altogether. You can also move videos by clicking and dragging them with the icon on the left.
When you are finished adding videos to your playlist, click on Go to Channel and this will immediately take you back to the details tab.
Users
Clicking on the Users tab will allow you to add new members to the Channel. To add new members, click + Add users, type in the A00 of the users you would like to add and then select their permission level.
Select the Member level to give users viewing rights into the channel
Select the Contributor level to give viewing and publishing rights into the channel
Select the Moderator level to give viewing, publishing and moderation rights into the channel
Or select the Manager level to give full access rights into the Channel
once selected click on Add
You can download a list of the current Channel members as an excel spreadsheet by clicking on the download list button.
Once you have added all of the users to the channel click on the details tab to continue editing the channel or the ‘back to channel’ link if you would like to return to the channel information page.
Related Posts
